The Great Tax Delinquency Scramble
A new revenue law threatens to wipe out old tax liens, forcing officials to chase down thousands of property owners to clear the county books before the November deadline.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Although property-owners in King County have been paying up back taxes with some promptitude, there is a large amount, probably in the neighborhood of $100,000, still delinquent. Much of this is the accumulation of the three or four years preceding 1891, when so many additions to cities were platted. To meet this exigency and to aid in clearing titles, two statutes were passed by the legislature: one known as the revenue and taxation law, which provides that proceedings in rem shall be taken to recover, and the other to clear title by providing that the lien for taxes levied and due prior to April 1, 1891, shall expire on November 1, 1892. To prepare for the operation of these laws, County Treasurer Byron Phelps has been several months compiling a roll which is a complete record of every piece of property in King County with the back taxes due upon each. Prosecuting Attorney John F. Miller, regarding the potential cost of legal action, remarked: 'If I obey the strict mandate of the law I shall proceed in every case, but I am now consulting the attorney general, and if my conception of my powers is correct I shall be able to save the county an outlay of thousands of dollars.'
“If the delinquency were confined to town lots and to farm lands, the provisions of the law would be admirable, but difficulty comes from the number of wildcat schemes and plats of greater pretensions in the present stagnation, such as Des Moines, Laci, York, and such places.”
Property tax delinquency and the legal complexities of clear titles remain central to Seattle’s civic discourse. Just as the 1892 county officials struggled with the debris of 'wildcat schemes' and failed real estate plats, modern Seattle leaders continue to manage the fallout of boom-and-bust property cycles.
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